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Yajñopavîta : holy cotton thread worn by Brâhmine men. Delivered to the young teenager by his guru during the performance of a special religious ceremony named upanayana, this thread means that the bearer is "twice born" (dvîja), i.e. first born physically, then born again in order to reach wisdom during his lifetime. This thread is not only granted to brahmane people, but also to members of the Kshatriya and Vaishya castes varna). When a snake is represented as a holy thread on a god's statue, it is a nagayajñopavita (generally, it's a single-headed cobra, sometimes three-headed)

Yaksha : in the ancient folk mythology, it's a genius living in forests. Kubera, chief of all the Yakshas, is the deity of underground treasures. Many times, Yakshas are represented as door-guards of buddhist shrines; in that case, they are similar to the dvârapâla of hindu temples. So, they are Asura or Râkshasa demons. However, they obey Shiva as His servants, like the Gana

Yakshi : celestial nymph, living in trees

Yâlî : mythical monster designed on temple pillar basis, sitting like a lion

Yama : God of death. One states that He is also God of ancestors and King of ghosts. He is the Supreme judge of all the human actions, and Master of the samsâra. His vehicle is a buffalo. His color is red; in His hands, he holds a noose, a stick, an axe and a dagger. He is also one of the eight Dikpâla and the Ruler of South. For Tibetan Buddhists, He is often represented with an awful face, long teeth, a crown made of skulls; in His hands and mighty claws, He holds the Wheel of Living Beings

Yamunâ : north indian river rising in Himalaya mountains. The Yamunâ river passes through Delhi, Mathura, Agra, following a direction approximately parallel to the Gangâ river to join it near the Allahabad city. As a deity, Yamunâ is a beautiful girl, standing on a tortoise

Yantra : mystical diagram; combination of geometrical pattern representing particular supramental forces, associated with various deities. For exemple, the Shri Yantra is closely linked to Shiva

Yoginî : female deity, servant of Durgâ. Originally, they were eight in number, then thirteen, then finally sixty four. They are dreadful and highly feared. Names of the eight first are : Mârjanî, Karpûra-Tilakâ, Malaya-Gândhîni-Kaumudikâ, Bherundâ, Mâtâli, Nâyakî, Jayâ

Yoni : symbolic representation of the universal matrix, female power of creation

Yuga : The duration of a cycle of the manifested world, between its creation and its destruction is called "a divine year" or "a day of Brahmâ", or a kalpa. Each kalpa is divided into one thousand equal periods or chatur-yuga; each chatur-yuga is again divided into four Yuga or Ages, the duration of each one being decreasing in course of time : Satya-yuga or Golden Age, when Harmony rules all over the world, Treta-yuga, during which this harmony is maintained only thanks to individual and collective human efforts, Dvâpara-Yuga, which is marked by the disintegration of life principles and morality, at last the Kali-Yuga, also called Iron Age or Age of Ignorance, when everything is collapsing. The present period is included in the Kali Yuga; extensive wars and fanatical gross ignorance unfortunately look in support of this pessimistic view. The Kali Yuga is said to last for 432000 years "only", and another Golden Age will follow in the frame of a new cycle

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